I think we'll add this our Christmas tradition list.

Candy Cane Cookies
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon red food coloring

Mix sugar, butter, vanilla, and egg in one bowl.  Mix dry ingredients together, then add to sugar/butter mixture.  Stir until dough forms a ball.  Divide dough in half.  Add red food coloring to half the dough and mix.  Cover each ball of dough with waxed paper and refrigerate at least an hour.  Heat oven to 350.  Take one tablespoon of plain dough and roll between fingers until about the thickness of a pencil  Do the same things with a tablespoon of red dough.  Pleace the two "pencils" side by side and twist together, then bend the end to make a cane.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 8 to 11 minutes until cookies are set but not brown.

He knew he looked good.

We decorated for Christmas on Friday after Thanksgiving.  We also had a pajama day.  Decorating just wouldn't be the same without Brooke.  As she took out each oranament she said very dramatically, "It's a-door-able." 

Our family Thanksgiving
The favorite dish was twice baked potatoes which Seth called potatoes baked again.

Yeah!!!!!!!!  Seth finished his 100 Lessons Reading Book so we celebrated at Sweet Sammies with cookies + ice cream.  Yum!   We are so very proud of Seth and I am so very glad to be finished with that book.

A conversation with Seth today...

Mom, sometimes I just want to get married.

I said well you can someday as long as you marry a girl that loves Jesus and respects you. 

S-Maybe I could be a missionary and tell her about Jesus and then we could get married.  Or we could get married and then I could tell her about Jesus.

me-No, she needs to love Jesus before you get married.

S-I wish I could just marry you, but you're already married.

S-Maybe I could marry two wives so someone would take care of the kids

Brooke chimed in and said then you would have more kids.

Then we talked about how you only have one wife.

me-If you marry a good woman she'll be able to take good care of your children.

S-Maybe I could just marry a babysitter because she would be good at taking care of the kids.

He'll never remember the conversation, but yet another reminder to pray for who he will marry.

One ballerina, a football player and an army guy ready for the Fall Festival

Flowers from my two favorite little boys.  How sweet is this?!?!

We went on a field trip to the Log Cabin Village in Fort Worth.  We spent the morning in a one room school house and had school there with friends.  It was as if we lived in the 1880's and got to experience a school day like they did in the past.  It was a great learning experience.

We had our first trip to the Texas State Fair.  Maw Maw and Paw Paw were here visiting so we all went to the fair.  One of the fun things the kids did was "Little Hands on the Farm".  It was a fun day at the fair.

It was fun to celebrate Joshua's birthday with Jim and Mary Beth.

October 11th - I had a very sweet birthday.

Brooke did lots of "cooking" while we were at my parents.

Nanny is 86 years old.  She is one funny  lady. 

The first week of October was Fall break at Southwestern so we spent the week in Missouri with Pa Pa John and Grandme Earnie.  It was a perfect weather week.  We visited Laura Ingalls Wilder's home in Mansfield, Missouri.  We had fun staying at my parent's house house, rocking on the porch swing, visiting with Nanny and the kids enjoying more acres to play on than in the city.  Mom and I got to go shopping one day.  We built a fire to cook out, the kids slept in the tent and we visited a pumpkin patch.  It could not have been a better week.  I am very thankful for our time there.

This was a pretty view from the Wilder' s rock house.

Rose Wilder built this home for her parents.  Laura did lots of her writing of her Little House books while they lived here. 

The front of the Wilder house.

Pa Pa John let Brooke and Seth "go camping" in the backyard.  He slept in the tent with them.  I think they finally went to sleep at 10 and woke up at 5:30.  Not much sleep for kids who go to bed at 8 and sleep until 7. 

One night Pa Pa John built a fire for us and we roasted hot dogs and made s'mores.

One of the very fun things we did in Missouri was visit a pumpkin patch farm in  Springfield.  While we were there we took a wagon ride pulled by clydesdales, ate kettle corn and devoured a funnel cake, walked through the corn maze, picked out pumpkins, had a picnic and then played a really fun game of tag in and around this little barn that had tunnels and slides. 

I love this man!